DON BOWMAN REMEMBERS - Tales of the Sacandaga Valley
As published in the Edinburg Newsletter

Valley Witch Women
It was believed that a witch woman could communicate with the dead, wield power in the spirit world and in that way affect what happens to living humans. To some folks the devil is not real. To her he was real. It was claimed that a witch woman was a bride of the devil

It was believed that Miss Nina could put an evil shadow on you and that you’d not know it. The curse could change your health, hurt your luck or job. Cause you sadness – depression, lack of sleep, money and sex problems. Witch women believe the fallen angel Lucifer protects them. They sell their souls to the devil. Who really knows the dark side of a person?

The witch woman said of a man in Day, “May he die of cancer and three black dogs defile his grave.”

Some folks believed that she was an evil creature the harbinger of death. She was quoted as saying that when she died she would go to a spirit world– not heaven – not hell. That she was a sinister spirit. She was superstitious about black cats, ladders, cracked or broken mirrors, unlucky numbers. Had a belief in magic, and ghosts in the graveyard.

It was also believed that houses, now mostly empty of former witch women still had feelings of human emotion. That the very walls had absorbed the thoughts of violence, anguish, misery and the spells that had been cast therein, like the home of the former witch woman of Denton. “I have strange powers,” she was quoted as saying. “Only God can cure the sick and return the dead to life. But try me and learn what I can do.” They said that she had a malevolent aura that was frightening.

Regular folk should eat garlic flavored food at Halloween, because Hecate, Queen of the Underworld avoids being around odors of garlic.

Skeeter The Bouncer
Skeeter was a big fellow. Worked at the sawmill at Allen Creek and the River. Skeeter was also a bouncer at the dance hall over at Lake Desolation. Folks came from all over, even from Saratoga to the Lake Desolation weekly dance. There were two dance bands at the hall. When the square dance ended the other band took over and swung in with what was called a cuddle dance – a waltz, or fox trot, or whatever – a slow dance.

When the Conklinville project started the sawmill at Allen Creek closed down as did the other business places. Skeeter came to work with us. Lunch times we talked, gabbed you know. Skeeter still worked at the dance hall. When he did, he wore a six shooter in a holster. But he said that he never had to use the hog leg. His size and reputation were enough to stop much trouble. It was easy to put a guy or two out of the hall.

“ But,” he said, “One Saturday nigh there was a real fight at the dance. Two guys, Marc and Benny, got into a real fight over a girl named Natasha. Skeeter bumped both their heads together and put them out of the hall.”

The next week the two guys returned. Marc gave Benny a bottle of home brew from his car. They seemed to have made up. But soon Benny was sick. Then passed out. When Skeeter got to him, the young chap was unconscious on the floor. Skeeter got a couple guys to take Benny down the mountain to the doctor at Middle Grove.

The doctor treated Benny and sent him down to the hospital at Saratoga. Doctor also send back word to Skeeter that Benny had ingested Chloral Hydrate – knock out drops.

Skeeter grabbed Marc and held him for the State Police that the doctor had notified. Skip said that was the worst trouble they ever had at the dance.

PS – I wonder if I can add here that I used to rattle the bones, with both hands at square dances. But now my left hand is kinda crippled up but I can still beat out a tune with my right hand.

Also after the second WWII and working on the second dam at Stewarts Bridge, among other things, I was the operator of a large open sided pavilion dance at Chimney Rock, N.C. I was also nighttime officer for the Town of Lake Lure and I too carried a gun at the dance as Skeeter had done years before.

Please Move My Parent’s Remains
Near Daley Creek at the river there was a glassless stony, only partially fenced field of the dead. There was no caretaker, no building, no sign of life or death. Only a large boulder marking two grave sites as a natural
headstone for the two graves.

“ That’s where my folks are buried,” said Hattie Mae Roberts. “Will you please have some one in authority made aware of the fact? Tell them I shall pay personally for the relocation of the remains of my parents.”

I assured the lady that I would go from there to the foreman and tell him. She thanked me, insisted that I take a twenty dollar bill as a tip.

Mrs. Roberts had come by car to where our bone yard gang was working in the churchyard at Osborn
Bridge Village, sent there by someone at the time office. She called me over, explained that she read
in a Utica newspaper about the dam being built on the Sacandaga River. Also, that many above graveyards were being dug up to remove the remains above where the impounded waters would flood the valley.

So Mrs. Roberts had come to the valley to have her folks remains removed to a final resting place. They had both died of flu when she was a little girl and had been buried on the farm at a large boulder on which a cross had been chipped.

At the time of the deaths she had been taken to live with an aunt out at Utica. As she grew up she sometimes visited the graved at the peaceful site at the foot of the boulder with the cross. Now she wanted her parents to rest in a real cemetery, not at the bottom of a water filled reservoir.

The lady had gotten me to go with her to Don Dailey Creek to show the grave sites. I made a note on my pad and put down her address and told her that I would enter the location of the list of graves. I also told her that all cost would be taken care of by the project. No cost to her. That over 20 known grave yards were being taken care of with now and then any private graves we became aware of.

The lady thanked me and blessed me and that with other blessings on me, have helped along the trail of life.
I’m sure they didn’t hurt me!

Another Sacandaga happening I remember.

The Law and Constable Dick
Constable Dick was about five eight, had meat on his bones, but not fat. Hair light brown, had laugh wrinkles at corners of his blue eyes that could turn very cold, very fast, like the river. And his smile I never understood
how a law officer could have such a great smile. That was Constable Dick. Sometimes he was called the “Turtle Cop” because he was really concerned about fish and wildlife.

I sometimes was assigned to work for him. I drove the horse and wagon that has a sign on it that read “Patrol”. We watched for theft on the job, patrolled the valley. Put squatters out of houses, carted them to above the survey lines. Somehow the squatters moved into empty houses with the mistaken idea that they could collect money for the property. That was wrong because all deeds were listed in the books in the offices of both the county seats in which the valley covered.

Dick sometimes wore his holstered side arm, which some folks called a “hawg leg.” We also had a shotgun under the wagon seat.

Sometimes there was trouble. Not just with squatters, but with actual property owners that did not want to leave the family farm that had been owned for maybe a hundred years or so, even though the land for the project had been properly taken over by the law of eminent domain, the rights of the many, of course checks for payment of the land were offered, but still some folks would not accept. Sometimes Deputy Sheriffs had to be called to a dispute, even State Police. But many folks were pleased to sell and move for the best
trees had been lumbered off the mountains there was no work in the valley.

Threats were made against Constable Dick and the patrol wagon. The constable always checked the brakes on his private car, looking for tampering. But as he said, “Brake tampering only works on mountain roads.” And we sure have up and down and mountain roads.”

He also said, “Stranger things have happened under the sun and in this valley.” Once, when he caught a guy stealing some tools, the constable quoted scripture – “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul?” Another time he said, “There is no problem so big in life that it can’t be solved by money.” Another time – “Fishin’ is really two sports. Fishin’ them and catchin’ ‘em.” Also, - “People can be right for the wrong reason.” And – “Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.”

Another time when he caught a guy taking a truck load of furniture, stealing it from the house of his sister, Constable Dick said, “Sometimes evil touches her life, and when you are not evil, you don’t know how to handle it.” I have a great snapshot of Constable Dick standing next to the horse drawn patrol wagon,
and it takes my remembers back, way back to the valley over sixty years.

Lady Preacher
Devonna was a part time lady preacher at Osborn Bridge. A lady preacher was unusual in those days.
Lawrence said that she conducted the graveside services for Harley who had been killed by an unruly horse. Lawrence told us that he would remember the preacher woman’s words–“ Let it be a reminder to us that life is uncertain. That we need to treasure our friendship. Harley was a truly fine man.”

Vampire
The doctor, Dr. Darius S. Orton of FishHouse, said that Cornelius had Porphyria – a rare and peculiar kind of blood disease that makes the person develop vampire like symptoms. Overly sensitive to sunlight and have an aversion to garlic. Like vampires in books, movies and now as I tell it, tv stories. Also the disease causes the persons gums to recede in the mouth, making he or she look like they have fangs. They feel they need blood to sustain themselves, animal or human blood. It was Cornelius sucking blood of his live Easter Bunny that brought things to the surface in the Town of Fish House. Doctor Orton had learned of the disease when he
was a doctor in Albany before coming to Fish House. He said there was a young girl there that had the
unfortunate disease. The doctor sent for the drug“ Heme” to relieve Cornelius of his affliction of Porphyria.

The Loess Soil
There was a hill of Loess soil in a bend of the river near Day. That soil was real good, gathered there by the winds. Mostly a fine topsoil. There was also a windy point.

Winter Wonderland
During the night the rain had frozen and then turned to snow. The valley seemed immobilized. A deadly ice sheath lay upon every flat surface in sight. Few people ventured out. Those with horse drawn wagons had troubles for few horses were shed with caulks in the metal horse shoes so the poor animals were skidding and shimmering with feat of the treacherous roads. Cars and trucks were iced shut with the frozen ice. Ice covered brush, weeks, fence wired. The ice ober trees, branches at twig ends tinkled with winter music as the iamond coatings tinkled against one another. It was a beautiful white icy wilderness. Due to zero cold the windows in houses were all painted with beautiful, natural frost patterns on insides of the glass panes.

Have a Wonderful Time
Devlin was from Albany now living in the dorm. He had been overseas in World War I. “This valley,” he said. “It’s like France. There is the Great River. If you can stay away from the people, you can have a wonderful time.” Then he kicked up a stone and added – “Now they are going to flood it. No one will want to live around a water reservoir.

A Winter Night
I remember one winter night when I was at work and looked up at bushels of diamonds scattered on black satin and the moonlight flooded down behind them over the mountains onto the snow covered valley. I thought how very wonderful to see all that beauty while I was getting paid at the same tim

Empty Houses

People had been moving out of the valley houses and business places before we started the project for the dam. For over the years, the best timber had been cut and used. So there was no work. Much of Conklinville, the Town on both sides of the river, looked like a ghost town seen in a Saturday afternoon western movie in a
movie house away from the valley. There was no movie house. Some of the windows in the buildings standing
in the moonlight resembled the last jagged teeth in the mouth of an old man. They also looked like haunted houses. I soon heard stories of the haunted houses, death, spooks, ghosts, and witch women.

The Grab Bag
Jesse was a nice enough feller. He came from Buffalo and went to live in the Dorm at Conklinville. In the cook shack some fellers wouldn’t sit at the same table with him on the long benches, said that he smelled like a squashed bug. At day’s end after a sweaty day of work they said that he stank worse. So 4-5 fellers carried him down to the river and threw him in the cold running water. Put a bar of soap on shore. Told Jesse to swim and clean up or sink. He cleaned up. They gave him clean clothes from The Grab Bag. They were clothes that had been left behind in empty houses by folks that moved. The clothes were cleaned by the cook’s helper called the cookie.

Some Prices in the Past

Corn was ten cents a bushel. Butter was fifteen to twenty cents a pound, eggs were five to eight cents a dozen. Prime hogs sold for $2.55 a hundred weight. Billy D. sold a thousand pound bull for $16.00 minus a dollar to Harry Eno for hauling it.

Some chopped meat, later called hamburger, was three pounds for a quarter. Good steak was twenty-f8ive cents a pound. Jello was three cents a box, which was just being sold. Before
that, it was Gellatin. Four was seventy-five cents for a forty pound sack. Sugar was five cents a pound. Coffee was twenty-five cents a pound for beans. You ground it yourself in a little grinder you held between your knees as you sat in a kitchen chair. Then the stores put in coffee grinders with a big wheel to turn to grind
the beans. Then it was sold, ground in a pound bag in the grocery stores.

Many folks churned their own butter and also made homemade soap. Clothes were washed by hand in a tub with a wash board. Many families had their own milk, eggs, a garden, berries, an apple tree, and a potato patch. Fresh wild dandelion leaves were tasty in the spring. Also fiddle head ferns.

Some single men worked as hired hands on farms for room and board and $20.00 a month. Up on the mountain in the lumber camp with a bunk, blanket, and beans with salt pork at $30.00 a month with pay day at the end of winter season.

A ring of bologna was two bits. Bacon was twenty cents a pound, salt pork fifteen cents a pound. Kerosene – coal oil was twelve cents a gallon. But sometimes with the men of the family up on the mountain mama and the kids did not have the price of a gallon. So they ate the supper – what there was – in the early dark
of the winter days, with the fire door of the stove open in order to see to eat and do school lessons.

If papa worked at the sawmill or tannery, pay night was Saturday and if he did not squander it in the grog shop, they could go to the store. Ladies clothes, shoes of real leather were two to three dollars a pair. A simple dress was one to three dollars, dress up dress five dollars and up. A fifteen dollar coat was real nice with a hat to go with it for $1.25.

Many women made theirs and children’s clothes from the cloth of feed sacks. Yeah, cracked corn, scratch feed and such came in cloth bags with printed, colored patterns in the cloth, various flowered patterns. So the ladies would swap feed sacks with neighbors, at home, in the store. Even take a swatch of what was needed to church. That way they got enough matched material to make a full dress. Some women folk lived on the route that the glove man took. He came from Gloversville, brought material and patterns, picked up completed gloves and paid cash.

by Don Bowman
As written for the Edinburg Newsletter

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